I've always thought it was terribly unfair (normally I hate that word) for bricks and mortar stores to have to collect sales taxes while the internet guys with lower operating costs already could dodge then.

I live in California, so the new tax is presented to me each time I go through the Amazon checkout.

I know that I "think" that Internet taxes level the playing field, but I was curious to see what I actually "did" when they were imposed (know thyself).

I guess I'm kinda odd, in that I have lists for wants and needs, and I track all my purchases.

So, what I THOUGHT I WOULD DO, was to switch to buying local, in the process supporting my community (making me feel all good about myself).

What I DID, was to scrutinize each purchase more carefully, and in the end ,I reduced the total amount that I purchased. I did not on average buy local, (though that's what I'd tell everyone else to do). I bought markedly less. That was probably good for me and my budget. But I'm pretty sure that's not what the state had in mind when they added the tax. And as to the local retailers, who were yelling the loudest? They lost anyway.

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